Competition authority to probe food delivery apps

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) is set to probe online food delivery and groceries platforms to address consumer complaints including undelivered orders, bad food, misrepresentation of items, and breach of customer data.

This comes at a time the online food delivery market is rapidly growing in Kenya driven by an increasing population, greater internet access, and a shift in consumer preference as more customers seek the convenience of home food delivery.

Some of the major players in the local market include Glovo, Jumia, KFC, Uber Eats, Chicken Inn, Java House, Big Square, and supermarket chains such as Naivas, Carrefour, and Quickmart.

Enforcement

“The market inquiry will seek to uncover how food delivery and groceries platforms work in practice and suggest regulatory and policy options for competition and consumer protection enforcement,” said CAK acting Director-General Adano Wario in a gazette notice.

The study will enable the watchdog better understand consumer protection concerns to provide redress mechanisms available for consumers when shopping through online marketplaces.

Despite the advantages that have been offered by online shopping, concerns have been raised over fraud where shoppers have been duped by fraudsters into paying for non-existent or low quality goods.

Customers have also raised concern over some online shopping firms that fail to refund their money when they deliver the wrong or substandard product even as some of the firms have been accused of making false representations of their goods to dupe shoppers.